Excursion 1 - a walk to a yacht/fisherman harbor for lunch
It was just a short 45 min. walk.
Katy had the catch of the day.
Excursion 2 - the southern part of the island.
We drove to the end of the island where there is a light house and cliffs.
On the way we also saw the vineyards. It is very dry so they grow on the ground.
The lava ash soil holds the dew and the leaves on the ground help by shading.
They wrap the vines to form a basket inside which the grapes grow.
The basket protects the grapes from the wind. Vines can be hundreds of years old.
Among the cliffs of the south side….
…one can find secluded beaches.
We also went to Akrotiri, a city buried 1600 BC when the volcano blew up.
They knew the volcano was about to go off and the people fled with all valuables.
A few jars and pieces of furniture have been found.
These stairs could not carry the weight of up to 50 m (165ft) of ash.
Some buildings are 3 stories tall with wall paintings in the upper floors.
Wood decayed but left air space which when filled with cement makes beds reappear.
A bathtub and a shot of the roof over the dig site.
Excursion 3 - a hike up to the Greek and Roman city of Thira from 2000 yrs ago.
From our hotel, the highest peak on the left and old Thira on the right.
We hiked several hours up the donkey trail to the sattle.
About half way up to the sattle where the entrance was.
From the entrance 20 more min. up. Looking back at the beach where we started.
A house with atrium
Looking down from the top of the amphitheater
Underground building with the highest peak of the island in the background.
A temple site
After Old Thira we walked down the zig-zag road on the other side to Kamari
In Kamari we ate a late lunch and waited for the boat.
We took the boat around the mountain back to where we had started the day.
